Iconic, American southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd are in the middle of their ‘Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour,’ but rumors have been rife about whether or not this band of the ages is actually packing it in. In a private sit-down in their trailer ahead of their set at Stagecoach 2019—where they rocked a decent crowd of millennials to mature rock fans on the secondary Palomino Stage—we asked straight up if Skynyrd (as fans affectionately call them) is for sure packing in at the end of their farewell tour in 2020.

Guitarist Rickey Medlocke not only teased us with his well thought out, honest and revealing answers—he revealed that in addition to a current album in production, there are a slew more to be made from “a stockpile” of unrecorded work.

Here’s what Medlocke told Parade about the band’s recent trajectory that has lead them to contemplate calling it quits.

“Ya think?! [Medlocke, who at 69 is fit and ripped, laughed, coyly]. The thing is, what it’s all about is that we ended 2017 after a pretty brutal year out touring, and everyone knows that in past 10 years Gary [Gary Rossington, Skynyrd co-founder, lead and rhythm guitarist, and sole constant member] succumbed to some scary times with his heart that freaked us out, ya know? [Rossington has admitted to having heart attacks on stage and that his doctors have urged him for 15 years to quit the band].

“But ya know what? Gary, along with Johnny [lead vocalist Johnny Van Zant, brother of Skynyrd co-founder Ronnie Van Zant] and myself and management, we just thought it was time. What this is, is about us pulling back on doing the 80-100 shows we’ve done every year, because with performances and the travel we’re talking 225 days a year away from home, ya know?”

(Courtesy Stagecoach)

So why not buy an island or two and disappear into the sunset and spend your days relaxing on a beach?

Well, I’ve argued this with people sometimes who say ‘why do you guys keep doing this? Why don’t you just give it up and live a quote/unquote whatever life?’ But this is what we do. It’s not who we are, it’s what we do. I’m about music—it’s what I do, I’ve done it all my life, and you don’t all of a sudden one day go ‘OK, I’m done with music,’ and you lay it down and walk away from it.

“I love entertaining—the whole band does. So, basically what it’s gonna come down to is we’re doing these shows, ya know, this year and it will roll into next year, and [Rossington] and management have had plans for us to do a residency. Residencies are all over the world. You can do ‘em in Europe, and of course there’s Vegas, like Aerosmith is doing.”

Is a residency of interest to the whole band?

“Oh yeh, yeh! And I think we can pursue that. You know, where you play three days away [at the residency location] and then the rest of the week, ya know, you can chill and go home if you want to, wherever your home is. So, yeh, I think we’ll end up doing some residencies.

“The band will stay intact as-is—we’re not breaking up, and ya know for fans who follow this band religiously, it freaked them out when all of a sudden we announced we were hanging it up. But there’s an old saying that a farewell tour is as good as a get-back-together tour. Sooo, you basically can never say never, ya know what I mean? I mean look at KISS, they’ve been on their farewell tour for 25 years. Look at Cher, she’s been on hers for, what, 10 or 15 years?

“Ya know what? What ya have to look at, though, is when somebody has a serious health issue and he’s like a brother, and you’ve spent the major part of your life with him. You don’t want to see it end up bad. You want to see it end on top, and that means going out on top.”

Besides the farewell tour album and DVDs, are we going to see a new Skynyrd album any time soon?

“We’re getting ready to go into the studio and cut a new studio song, and we’ll see what we’re gonna do with it. But you know what? We’re going to stay in recording, because we’ve got a stockpile of tunes, man, that’s unbelievable! They’ve never been recorded. Nobody’s heard of them! Only the writers and us.

“We all write. Gary, Johnny and I used to get together a lot to write together. So, we want to spend more time in the studio recording Lynyrd Skynyrd tunes that are just sitting there. You know what I mean? And then I’m sure that everybody will have side projects and do side things. I know I will, and I know Johnny will. We all have our side thing that we love.

“And, well, we’ll see what happens.”

What’s your passion or hobby that you do in your spare time when you’re not on tour, recording the new album or strumming with the band and writing new songs?

“Fishing. Oh yehhh, fishing! I’m so into fishing, whether it be off-shore, in-shore or freshwater—I’m all about it. Me and the fish.”

So, once again for the definitive record (pardon the pun): Lynyrd Skynyrd is here to stay after supposedly saying “farewell” on this current tour?

“Look, my wife Stacy sings with Kid Rock and is currently filling in for us as we tour. Stacy’s been doing a really good job with us and we thank Kid for loaning her to us. But the deal is that the band will otherwise stay as-is.

“Nobody’s leaving, we’re not breaking up as a group. Parade can hold us to it. I’ve said this before, you don’t have to break up, and I don’t think any of us are thinking that,” Medlocke says emphatically.

Regardless of why they decide over the coming year as they continue to tour, Lynyrd Skynyrd will go down in rock history, claiming at least two, if not more, of our time’s classic rock songs—beloved by rock ‘n’ roll fans worldwide, as well as those who don’t call themselves rock fans but sing along regardless. We’re talking “Free Bird,” Skynyrd’s 1973 rock ballad for the ages, included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, and their second hit, 1974’s “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Parade contributor Nicola Bridges is a categorical country music fan (“as a punk rock-raised Brit, I’m sorry to say I’ve never been a fan of sixties and seventies American classic rock bands, beyond more recent decades’ Nirvana and Green Day”), but confesses to still somehow knowing all the lyrics to “Free Bird” and “Sweet Home Alabama.”

AMG/Parade Digital

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